


The Possibilities of Defeat

by Mam0714



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, TMI: AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 19:57:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mam0714/pseuds/Mam0714
Summary: Clary Morgenstern is the daughter of the powerful King Valentine, ruler of the Morgenstern Kingdom. The Morgenstern Kingdom is just one of the five kingdoms of Idris, the others being the Fairchilds, Blackthorns, Carstairs, and the Herondales. Clary is certain that she is going to spend the rest of her days locked up in the castle with only her father for company, but what happens when King Valentine marries her off to the mysterious, enigmatic Jace Herondale? Clary soon learns what life and love really mean and uncovers a secret that when learned will shake the very foundation of the ground she stands on.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers! I am super excited for you all to read this! I have been planning on posting it for a while now. I have been working on my writing skills and my style and think that I have definitely gotten better (or at least a little bit). I can't wait until I can start posting chapters with a lot of action in them, but first the plot must develop!
> 
> Anyways, I also wanted to say that I am currently looking for a beta! Please, please, please, if you are interested comment and tell me. We can work something out so it will be easier to talk. It would be so helpful and I am definitely looking forward to working with whoever I choose! For those of you who do not care about this position and just want to read.... enjoy!

_They witnessed her destruction,_

_They were left to wonder why,_

_She saw nothing but darkness,_

_Though the stars shone in her eyes._

Warm light streams into my room through the open curtains, illuminating the day, and bouncing back onto the back of my eyelids, waking me from a fitful night’s rest. I sit up in bed, sheets falling around my waist, and rub my eyes whilst shaking my head, trying to clear the rest of sleep from my eyes. I get up and walk over to the mirror trying to catch a glimpse of how much of a mess my hair is. Instead, when I reach the mirror my eyes zone in on the prominent and obvious, dark, blue-black bags underneath my eyes. I was used to having nightmares and waking up exhausted with sweat stuck to my forehead and neck, but last nights dream had been one of the worst I’d had in at least six months. 

My mother and Jonathan both haunted my dreams, keeping me up at night, and relentlessly never backing down. It had been 8 years since my mother had passed, 4 since Jon had died as well and their deaths still hung around the dark, dingy castle. No longer could you hear the sound of the grand piano drifting throughout the grands, smell the paints that had been used in the making of all the pictures on the walls, or hear my brother’s all-consuming laugh coming from right around the corner. They were no more. The paintings had been taken off the walls and burned leaving them bare and ugly. The music room had been disposed of as its instruments reminded my father of my late mothers passing. Jon’s presence had been stripped from the castle altogether. His favorite books thrown away and his room now an empty space left for guests of the castle. The only way you could find a part of either of the two was locked away in my memories. 

The door of my room opens with a creak, drawing me from my depressing thoughts and back to the real world. Madeleine entered my room carrying a rather large pile of dresses and wearing a hesitant smile on her face. I turned around to look at Madeleine fully, taking in her greying hair and the crinkles around her eyes. Madeleine had acted as a surrogate mother to me ever since my own had died. She had taken care of me for the past 8 years and kept me company on the night Jon had died, holding me in her arms tight against her chest, until my choked sobbing had subsided into soft whimpers. I now looked at her and realized just how old she had gotten after at least 30 years of serving my family. “Madeleine, is everything alright?” I asked concerned. “What is the meaning of all these new dresses?”

“Of course, Clarissa.” Madeleine replied “These dresses are for your journey.” Journey? I had not been alerted by father that we were going anywhere and I certainly was not going off to another kingdom by myself simply of my own accord. I knew Madeleine was hiding something from me. Her eyes could not stay focused in one place, drifting from the pile of dresses, to my face, to the floor and her hands trembled as she started laying out the dresses from the stack. “Madaleine, what is wrong?” I asked her nervously. “Please look at me. You are making me nervous.”  
Madeleine looked up from where she was smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles on the front of a dress staring me straight in the eyes. “Oh my dear Clarissa.” she said walking over to where I stood and pressing her palms against my cheeks. “I am so sorry. Yet, for what I cannot say. I feel as if this is a better conversation better spent with father. You must get ready now. He will be waiting for you downstairs. He said he wished to have breakfast with you this morning.” 

I pulled away from her hands nodding and walking to my closet. I picked out one of my favorite dresses from the cluttered closet and slowly put it on, having Madeleine help me with my corset. Once I had brushed my hair out and done my makeup in a light manner, I looked over at Madeleine once more before heading down the stairs to where my father was waiting. 

_______________________________

 

“Clarissa, so nice of you to join me.” Valentine spook from the head of the table. My father is the king of the Morgenstern Kingdom, which is just one of the five other kingdoms of Idris. Out of the other five rulers, he is by far the cruelest and most difficult.

My father is a strict man, who no longer holds any compassion or concern for others. Our kingdom had once been one of great joy, where adventures were expected, and every new day brought new discoveries, but that had long since been the case. I still remember the days when Valentine was not just a king, but he was my father and loved to spend time with me and my brother. He would go to the town with us sometimes, where we would meet with the engineers and inventors of our age, discussing new theories and solutions to the problems at hand. People would gather wherever we were just to see my father and possibly be able shake his hand. Those days were no more as my father had stopped visiting the villages the day my mother died. When my father had seen my mother die, he ran off to the borders where the battle against the demons was being fought. He stayed there for about a month before returning home to deal with his children and people. My father has been different ever since he returned from that month long period. 

Now, he just stays in the castle, conducting his little experiments down in the basements. I have tried to ask him before what it is he is doing down there, but he had yelled saying that my curiosity and nosiness would cost me. I never asked again. “Good morning, father.” I answer. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Sit down and eat, Clarissa. We have much to discuss.” he says shortly. I have always hated it when people call me Clarissa. The only person I didn’t mind calling me that was Madeleine, for she said it was improper for her to call me anything else. It was hard enough to get her out of the habit of calling me ma’am, so I wasn’t going to complain. I had asked my father plenty of times to call me Clary, but he each time he said that Clary was not the name of a princess and that I was named Clarissa for a reason. The last time I had heard the name Clary pass through the lips of someone who was not my own, was Jonathan before he had died. Now I had grown tolerant to the name. “What is it you wish to discuss with me, father?” I ask persistently, irritated by the secret being kept from me. 

“As you well know,” he began, “I have been looking for you a husband for the past several months. Now I believe I have found the perfect man to be your betrothed. I met with him on my last business trip and together we struck a deal. You are to be married to him within the next couple months.” my father finished, closing off his sentence with a bite of his bread. My mouth hung open and I could feel my hands beginning to shake. Married? Next couple months?

I said nothing as I continued to stare at my father shocked at his announcement. As far as I knew father could have married me off to a 60 year old man with grey hairs and a receding hairline. “You did what?” I finally said coldly. I was surprised at how quiet and steady my voice was. 

Valentine sat up straighter, his head raised and his eyes hard and full of ice. “Do not make me repeat myself, Clarissa. You are to marry this man and you will like it.” His voice was beginning to tremble, a sure tell sign off his climbing rage. 

His last sentence though, was what moved me from my seat. “What do you mean I will like it, father? I have never even met this man before in my life! I don’t even know his name!” I shouted, unable to comprehend what my father was asking of me.

“Sit down and calm yourself, Clarissa. If I hear one more disrespectful word come out of your mouth, you will be sorry you even thought those sentences.” my father said slowly, pronouncing every consonant.

I climb back into my seat, not saying a word, but my eyes give away everything. I stare back at his defiantly, unwilling to look away first. “The man’s name is Jace Herondale.” my father finally says. Jace Herondale. I have heard of him. He is king of the Herondale Kingdom, one of the most wealthy and important kingdoms of the five. Of course my father would want me to be in a position where I could benefit him the most. “When will I be leaving?” I ask quietly.

My father looked back at his plate and began to start eating his breakfast again before answering my question.”You are to go upstairs and begin packing right after you finish eating and you will be leaving this afternoon.” This afternoon? That was so soon. I decidedly said nothing else though, knowing it would just make my father more angry. I nodded and finished off my food quietly before heading up to my chambers, where Madeleine was busy packing for my journey.

________________________________

 

As I walk into my room, trying to keep the tears at bay, I am greeted by a tight hug from Madeleine. I return her embrace after a moment of hesitation and bury my head into her shoulder. One of Madeleine’s hands run smooth lines up and down my back in a reassuring and comforting manner while the other cups the back of my head keeping me in place. “My dear Clarissa,” she said gently, continuing to run her hands down my back, “I am so very sorry. I know how much this hurts. But the problem will soon unknot itself. All will be well.”

She pulled back from my arms slowly, placing my face in her hands and wiping away the wet streaks that had somehow managed to escape from the storm in my eyes. “I know you are upset with your father for forcing your hand, but we both knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. And as sad as I am that it was sooner rather than later, I am so undeniably proud of the young, beautiful woman you have matured into. There is no doubt in my mind that you won’t make an extraordinary queen.” 

Madaleine pulls me back in for one more quick hug before pulling back and finishing drying off my cheeks. “Now, how about we get you all cleaned up for your departure? It would be nothing but a crime if you did not leave this castle with a bang.” I nod and begin on my last minute preparations. 

An hour or so later and the last of my suitcases have been packed and my outfit has been completed. I am wearing a lavender colored dress that is complete with cream ribbon and lace on the sleeves and bodice. The other servants come into my room and pick up my suitcases one by one preparing them for my departure. Madeleine walks over to where I am standing and gives me a light kiss on the forehead. “Goodbye, my dear Clarissa.” she finally speaks, her voice gentle yet firm. I give her a nod and walk out of my bedroom sparing Madeleine one more glance back. She is wringing her hands out in front of her and looks as if it is taking everything within her not to cry, but I know she will not break. Madeleine is too strong for the vulnerability of tears. I turn back towards the long staircase that will lead me to the front of the castle and future husband and begin my final descent. 

_But maybe they’d forgotten,_

_When they failed to see the cracks,_

_That a star’s light shines the brightest,_

_When it’s starting to collapse._

**Author's Note:**

> That's it! The first chapter! I hope everyone liked it. Please comment or kudos! I love it when I can hear what people have to say. If you have an idea or would like to see a certain character or quote infused into my fic, definitely leave a comment and I will try to work it in. Feedback is like the food for my should and I love it!
> 
> For those of you interested in being my beta, also please leave me a comment, so I can know! I look forward to working with the lucky person!


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